Roy Simmons Sr.
| Sport(s) | Lacrosse |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
September 27, 1901 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | August 20, 1994 (aged 92) |
| Playing career | |
| 1924–1925 | Syracuse |
| Position(s) | Defenseman |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1931–1970 | Syracuse |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 253–130–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Awards | |
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As player:
As coach:
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As player:
As coach:
Roy D. Simmons Sr. (September 27, 1901 – August 20, 1994) was an American lacrosse coach who was the head coach of the Syracuse Orangemen men's lacrosse team from 1931 to 1970. Simmons's teams posted more than 250 wins in his career, and he is a member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. He was also a boxing and American football assistant coach at Syracuse for more than 30 years.
Simmons was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on September 27, 1901, according to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame;The New York Times placed his birth year at 1899 or 1900. Simmons attended Hyde Park High School before attending the University of Chicago. He was expelled from the college after entering at halftime a 1920 game being played by Hyde Park's football team at Lansing, Michigan, in which he scored a touchdown that allowed Hyde Park to gain a tie. The incident made headlines in the local press, and University of Chicago coach Amos Alonzo Stagg said that he had "too much school spirit." Simmons then enrolled at Syracuse and played quarterback for the university's football team. In three seasons, the Orangemen went 22–4–3 with him on the team; Simmons was referred to as the "Hobo Quarterback". Originally, he intended to only play football at Syracuse. However, he took up lacrosse after finding a stick. Simmons was named to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-American Team as a defender in 1924, and played on the 1924 and 1925 Orangemen teams that were named national champions by USILA. In addition, he began the university's boxing team in 1925, and played baseball and basketball.
Simmons graduated from Syracuse in 1926. Post-graduation, he accepted an assistant coaching position for the Syracuse football team; he remained with that program for more than 40 years. In 1931, Simmons was named the head coach of the Orangemen. The first Syracuse team coached by Simmons was 7–4 in the 1931 season, ending the year with a four-game winning streak. The Orangemen had a 6–1–1 record in 1932. The following season, Simmons's Syracuse team played in the first box lacrosse game ever held between college teams, losing to Cornell. The match was part of an intermittent series of amateur indoor lacrosse games set up in the midst of the Great Depression. Simmons organized Rochester, New York-based commercial games of indoor lacrosse to pay for the lacrosse program's expenses, since Syracuse University had stopped its support of sports played in the spring. By 1934, the Orangemen had improved to 10–2. The team did not win more than seven games in any of the next nine seasons, but did not post more losses than wins until 1942, when the Orangemen went 3–4. During this period, Simmons's 1936 team had the best record, at 7–2. The 1942 team was coached by Simmons only in its first game; he left the team to enter the military and Fred Schermahorn guided the Orangemen in their remaining six games.
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